Port Fairy (historically known as Belfast) is a coastal town in south-western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. It lies on the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hi ...

in the

Shire of Moyne The Shire of Moyne is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 16,887. It includes the towns of Po ...

, west of

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (A ...

and west of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, at the point where the

Moyne River The Moyne River, a perennial river of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Course and features The Moyne River rises near , from the edge of the lava flows west-southwest of Penshurst. The ...

enters the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-smal ...

History

Moyne River, Port Fairy, looking S from W bank, 30

Prior to British colonisation in the 19th century, the Port Fairy area, then known as Pyipkil or Ummut, was inhabited by the Pyipkil gunditj clan, also known as the Yarrer gunditj. They spoke the Peek Whurrong language. The region's ecology consisted of dense

Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range ...

-dominated bushland and large swamps. The Pyipkil gunditj constructed stone and timber fishing-weirs called ''yereroc'' across creeks to catch fish and eels. They also cut canals called ''vam'' to drain swamps and made woven eel-pots called ''arabine'' to trap eels. The

Eastern Maar The Eastern Maar people are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples whose traditional lands are in the south-western part of state of Victoria, Australia. It is a name adopted by a number of Aboriginal Victorian groups who identify as Maar, incl ...

people are now considered the traditional owners of the Port Fairy area. In the early 19th century whalers and

seal hunters Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. Seal hunting is currently practiced in ten countries: United States (above the Arctic Circle in Alaska), Canada, Namibia, Denmark (in self-governing Greenland only), Ice ...

used the coast in this region. The crew of the sealing cutter ''The Fairy'' (Captain James Wishart) reportedly gave the bay its current name in 1828. Whatever its origins, the name "Port Fairy" had come into general use by 1835. John Griffiths established a

whaling station Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

in 1835, and a store opened in 1839. In 1843 James Atkinson, a

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

solicitor, purchased land in the town by special survey. He drained the swamps, subdivided and leased the land, and built a harbour on the Moyne River. He named the town "

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

" after his hometown in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. In the 1840s significant conflict between pastoral squatters and

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

occurred. 1842 saw 27 squatters from the Port Fairy neighbourhood signing a letter to Charles Latrobe, the Superintendent of the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

, reporting many "outrages" committed by the "natives" and requesting the government provide security. These clashes, later known as the

Eumeralla Wars The Eumeralla Wars were the violent encounters over the possession of land between British colonists and Gunditjmara Aboriginal people in what is now called the Western District area of south west Victoria. The wars are named after the region a ...

, formed part of the battle over land use and resources between traditional owners and Europeans across the Victoria's western district. The post office opened either in 1837 or on 1 July 1843 as "Port Fairy", but was renamed "Belfast" on 1 January 1854 before reverting to the original name on 20 July 1887. Agriculture developed in the region, and Belfast became an important transport hub. By 1857 the town had a population of 2,190. In 1887 the town was renamed "Port Fairy" as a result of an Act of Parliament. A railway extended to the town in 1890, but closed in 1977. It has been converted into the Port Fairy to Warrnambool Rail Trail. The Port Fairy Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990.

Traditional ownership

The formally recognised

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have right ...

for the area in which Port Fairy sits are the

people, who are represented by the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC).

Town

At the , Port Fairy had a population of 3,340. Its main industries are

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

, and it is the home port for one of Victoria's largest fishing fleets. A pharmaceutical factory owned by

Sun Pharma Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (d/b/a Sun Pharma) is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai, that manufactures and sells pharmaceutical formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in more ...

is located on the outskirts of the town. Port Fairy is home to two primary school education facilities, The Port Fairy Consolidated School and St. Patricks Parish Primary School. Port Fairy was voted as one of the

world's most livable cities The world's most livable cities is an informal name given to any list of cities as they rank on an annual survey of living conditions. In addition to providing clean water, clean air, adequate food and shelter, a ‘livable’ city must also ge ...

with a population under 20,000 after winning the 2012 International LivCom award. Port Fairy has a rich history, and 50 buildings are protected by the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's In ...

Griffiths Island Griffiths Island, sometimes incorrectly spelled as Griffith Island or Griffitts Island, lies at the mouth of the Moyne River next to, and within the bounds of, the town of Port Fairy, in the Western District, Victoria, Western District of the st ...

nearby holds a breeding colony of the

short-tailed shearwater The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in A ...

or Australian muttonbird.

Festivals

The Port Fairy Folk Festival is held during the Labour Day long weekend in March each year. The festival has run continuously since 1977. In 2016, Port Fairy celebrated the 40th edition of the Folk Festival from 11 to 14 March. Over the 40 festivals there have been around 3,500 acts including over 500 international acts and over 12,000 musicians to an audience of beyond 240,000 ticket holders and 1,000,000 attendees. The annual Moyneyana Festival is held over summer from Christmas Eve to 26 January. The annual Tarerer Festival, taking place over a weekend, is a celebration of the region's multicultural identity, its history relating to its

Aboriginal peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

(Koori, in particular those of the Warrnambool district), and the environmental significance of the land. It features music and dance as well as art and performance workshops, and includes music from a variety of cultures, including non-Indigenous ones. Begun in 1996 by a group of people in Framlingham Forest, it is the only festival of its kind in Victoria. The name derives from the Aboriginal name for

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

, the nearby area of volcanic lakes. In 2008, it featured the

rock reggae Reggae rock is a subgenre of reggae fusion and rock music that primarily uses the genres reggae, rock, and ska. Typical lyrics of reggae rock songs incorporate love, personal awareness, and life challenges while incorporating music and beat ...

band of the 1980s,

No Fixed Address In law, no fixed abode or without fixed abode is not having a fixed geographical location as a residence, commonly referred to as no fixed address. This is applicable to several groups: * People who have a home, but which is not always in the ...

, as well as a Sudanese band.

Sports and recreation

Port Fairy also has a highly rated 18-hole links golf course, the Port Fairy Golf Club, situated on Woodbine Road. Made famous when local young stud Kaidyn Phelan sunk an ace on hole 3 during the 2009 Port Fairy Masters, earning him the famous golden shearwater award and cementing his status as greatest golfer in west Port Fairy. The town has an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

team, the Port Fairy Seagulls, which plays in the

Hampden Football League The Hampden Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league based in South-Western Victoria, with clubs located in towns along or near the Princes Highway from Camperdown to Portland. The league is a major country ...

. Port Fairy has many surfing spots for all skill levels including the Old Passage, a right hand rocky break at the old entrance to the Moyne river; the Lighthouse, a right-hand point break off Griffiths island; and the East Beach with many right and left beach breaks.

Notable people

* Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet (1899–1985) died in Port Fairy * John Coleman (1928–1973), Australian rules footballer * Brian Dunlop (1938–2009), painter
/ref> *

Denis Napthine Denis Vincent Napthine (born 6 March 1952) is a former Australian politician who was the 47th Premier of Victoria. Napthine was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Portland fro ...

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assemb ...

2013–2014 *

T. J. Ryan Thomas Joseph Ryan (1 July 1876 – 1 August 1921) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1915 to 1919, as leader of the state Labor Party. He resigned to enter federal politics, sitting in the House of Represe ...

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

1915–1919

References

External links

Visit Port Fairy Moyne Shire - official tourism websitePort Fairy Folk Festival Port Fairy Accommodation - local tourism website
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Coastal towns in Victoria (Australia)

Fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

Western District (Victoria) Whaling stations in Australia Seal hunting Whaling in Australia Fishing communities in Australia